Mrs Burnham Miss Knights Welcome to Reception! Mrs Burnham Miss Knights

What we will do for you and your child. Care for your child’s individual needs. Nurture who they are. Help them learn to live socially. Teach them to read, write and understand the number system through topics they are interested in.

Learning Journals To record your child’s learning and successes we keep Learning Journals online using ‘Tapestry’ software. Photographs and videos will be used in most observations. You are able to view, comment and publish your own observations from home using a computer or tablet. Please ensure you have sent back the reply slip in order to access your child’s journal at home.

Our routines Children will come in every morning and do finger strong and reading activities. PE is every Wednesday afternoon. We will be getting changed when all the children have practiced using fastenings. We will go outside in all weathers. Named wellies will be needed. Books will be changed three times a week if we have the parent helpers to support this. The children will get the opportunity for show and tell. The rota will go up in the classroom window. This should be something to do with the topic or a visit they have had. It should not be a toy.

Growth Mindset We are aiming for children to develop their own ‘Growth Mindset’. This is also linked to our half-termly values that we celebrate as an entire school. We encourage children to accept and thrive on challenge and to be keen learners. We give lots of praise for EFFORT, not necessarily for result. …yet! Class pet (mouse – to be named) will be sent home to children who show a growth mindset.

General Stuff At play time the children play in a restricted area, where older children are not allowed to play roughly. All Reception children have a Year 6 buddy. The children are given a learning partner from their own class. Your child will also have homework. This will be a minimum of two activities per half term. Homework will be topic related and fun! Phonics and Maths are taught daily.

So, what is Phonics?

Terms Phoneme - the shortest sound a letter can make. We usually call them sounds, sometimes we call them phonemes. Digraph - 2 letters one sound. Eg, ai, as in rain Trigraph - 3 letters one sound. eg. ‘air’ as in hair.

Blending for reading – putting sounds together to make a word. Sound button, under each phoneme to help identify the separate sound, a line for digraphs etc. Fill this cart.

Segmenting for spelling: breaking words down into sounds. Phoneme frames, robot talking, counting phonemes.

How we teach it. Daily sessions /small groups. In each session children are expected to say phonemes on sight and either read phonemes / words or write them. They write every day. Web sites: Jolly phonics songs phonics play Daily sessions /small groups. Follow government guide lines. (Letters & Sounds) Playing games and using talk to help consolidate learning.

What we teach They recognise the phoneme. Learn to blend phonemes in words. Learn to write the phoneme. Eventually to hear the phonemes in the words they want to write and then write them. Letter formation is taught throughout. What we teach The sounds of letters in a set order. s, a, t, p, i, m, n, d, g, o, c, k, ck, e, u, r, h, b,f, ff,l, ll, ss Moving on to digraphs

b and d Tricky letters to recognise and write We help the children by using ‘honey b’ and curly ‘c goes into d’

Tricky Words and High Frequency Words Words that cannot be decoded, words we read frequently. I to no go the Have to be recognised not sounded out. Will be sent home on sheets with key words from next week.

The children For those who struggle to grasp phonics we give extra support, small group and 1-1 sessions. Whenever you child writes, praise every effort. Encourage them to hear sounds in the words. Demonstrate correct letter formation and pen grip if your child needs it.

Pencil grip

How you can help us. Ensure all your child’s clothing is named. Encourage independence e.g. put their own coat and jumper/ cardigan on and off, going to the toilet. Write in lower case letters with your child. Read every night; reading books that are not in the reading scheme is fine. Write in the reading record so we know. Complete the activities we send home with your children (HFW, letter formation, number formation, homework) Be prepared, you are going to have a very tired child this term! School is busy but great fun!

Thank you for listening Any questions?